Date: 1/27/2011
Post: 1,565
According to research just completed by Poor Richard of HermannMoNews, the unemployment rate in Gasconade County is back up to 10.1% as of December, 2010. During the past year unemployment has ranged from a low of 9.2% during three months of the year to a high of 12.1% last January. The unemployment rate in Gasconade County has been and currently is unacceptably high. As of December, we have at least 747 of our friends and neighbors who are unemployed and collecting benefits and that is 747 too many! (The actual number of unemployed and "underemployed" is a much larger number, probably 1,000 to 1,500.) We need one or two large manufacturing plant or perhaps five or six medium size manufacturing plants to move into Gasconade County.
At the December 27th Gasconade County Commission Meeting, Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry D. Lairmore made extemporaneous and I believe thoughtless remarks suggesting that the struggling unemployed themselves are to blame for the scarcity of good jobs in our county. (See official county commission meeting minutes of 12/27/2011 as printed in The Hermann Advertiser-Courier.) I thought these were particularly callous and insensitive remarks for Mr. Lairmore to make, and so I decided to investigate the subject of unemployment in our county.
Among many discoveries, I found that Commissoner Lairmore sits on the board of directors of the Gasconade County IDA (Industrial Development Authority) and on the board of directors of GVEZ (Gasconade Valley Enterprise Zone). To learn more about the Gasconade County IDA click on IDA . To learn more about the purpose and mission of GVEZ click on GVEZ .
Commissioner Lairmore, along with other board members with whom he serves on these two groups, is tasked with attracting business and industry, and along with them, good-paying jobs into our county. But what has Lairmore and the other board members actually accomplished in this regard. Very little in my assessment!
Click here to read Poor Richard's report on Gasconade County unemployment rates and the remarks made by Commissioner Lairmore at the 12/27/2010 Gasconade County Commission Meeting.
Commissioner Lairmore, I'd say that you should stop pointing your condescending finger of blame at our struggling unemployed. We have unemployed all over this vast country of ours. Instead, get to work developing strategies and tactics for attracting good-paying jobs to our fair county! There is no doubt it won't be easy. But with vision, imagination and leadership, we should be able to attract business and manufacturing. And if you and your colleagues aren't up to the task, please quit pretending that you are doing something by attending board meetings, drinking coffee and talking about the problem. Please step aside and let others fill your positions.
Stay tuned for further reports about Gasconade County unemployment, the Gasconade County IDA, GVEZ and related topics.
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Unfortunately that 10.1% figure only counts those collecting unemployment benefits, the rest of the unemployed, who receive no benefits, do not exist as far as the politicians are concerned. The REAL unemployment figure is much higher! That means over 1000 people in the county are out of work.
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